Partners, the new CBS comedy on Monday Night, has a familiar feeling. It has the pace, the comedy, and even the same characters as Will and Grace (during their fresh and funny years).

The role of Jack is now Louis and is played my Michael Urie, who you may remember at Marc St. James on Ugly Betty. He has all the same flamboyant, over the top, self obsessed confidence that Sean Hayes brought to Jack mixed with Marc St. James’ quick wit. And underneath he is loving and generous and caring. This is a character that America should find comfortable and unthreatening, they already know him by another name.

Playing Will is David Krumholtz, whose character is Charlie, Louis’ best childhood friend. Except unlike Will, Charlie is straight (and yes, yes, I know so was Will for all practical purposes for the first several seasons).

The story line revolves around Louis and Charlie who are not only best friends but partners in an architect firm. They are joined by Wyatt (Brandon Routh), Louis’ nurse boyfriend who was raised Mennonite and is an anti-stereotype balancing out Louis’ manic antics, and Ali (Sophia Bush), Charlie’s fiancée. Rounding out the cast is RoRo (Tracy Vilar) their slightly inappropriate office secretary/receptionist.

It is no coincidence that the feel is so familiar. It’s a project of David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (Will and Grace creators) and is based on their own mixed-orientation friendship and partnership.

It’s fresh and crisp and a bit more risqué than they could get away with earlier. And last night I found myself laughing out loud in parts. While so far this show hasn’t found its feet (or its ratings) I think that it has real potential – if it is given a chance for word of mouth to spread.

It isn’t likely to change the world in the way that Will and Grace did. But it helps continue a comfort level that viewers have with gay characters and, consequently, with gay people. For eight years Middle America invited their old best gay friend into their home each week (and changed their views in the process). Maybe they will now have a new one.

Sorry, this show was awful and I have it pegged as one of my early cancellations for the new season. Stereotyped, boring characters who sound like the upper class 50 year old writers rather than the 30 somethings they are supposed to be. A Clay Aiken joke? really? The laugh track alone is enough to make me not want to bother.

I suppose if Two & Half Men is your idea of the height of humor Partners is passable. But for the rest of us with better taste, this show is simply unfunny and unrepresentative, not just of gay people, but of people.

Funny you mention this now. I was just about to bail on the show until this week’s episode, which was the first one that was actually funny. Hopefully, they can keep that up. We all owe a lot to Will & Grace; it was truly groundbreaking TV at the time. Yes, Will was essentially asexual for most of the series’ run, but it’s all about baby steps. Now Louis has a live-in long term partner. The new show does feel a bit old fashioned, though. Louis speaks like a gay man about 25 years older than he actually is (like Max Muchnik speaks, probably ). But if they continue to build on the quality of last night’s show, they could have a sleeper hit in the making.

I agree with des – the first couple of episodes were smirky and glib. urie’s are ham-handed and lack deftness… i took it off my tivo list. surprisingly, the new normal has remained – barely. it’s pedantic and preachy, but manages to hit notes i am not expecting.

We didn’t even make it through the pilot. I am amazed at how bad Routh’s acting is–no wonder the Superman team told him “go” when he demanded more money for the next film. I am disappointed at Urie’s role–it’s so poorly written for someone who really CAN act.

I will try to get through the existing episodes to see if it finds its way.

In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.

When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.

In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.

From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”

On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.

Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!

Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.

Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.

Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.

The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.